Lightning Fill In The Blank

Now on to our final game, Lightning Fill In The Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as he or she can. Each correct answer is worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?

BILL KURTIS: Roy and Brian have two. Helen has three.

HELEN HONG: Yes.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: We flipped a coin. Brian has elected to go first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank - on Wednesday, President Trump praised the first responders who helped in the aftermath of the shooting in - blank.

BRIAN BABYLON: Las Vegas.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Monday, Facebook gave congressional investigators over 3,000 political ads purchased by groups linked to - blank.

SAGAL: This week, a Welsh rugby player had to miss a big game thanks to an injury he sustained while - blanking.

BABYLON: Vegemite sandwich.

SAGAL: No.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: While trying to pet a lion on the head.

(LAUGHTER)

HONG: What?

SAGAL: Scott Baldwin is his name. He traveled with his Welsh rugby team to South Africa, where he visited a game preserve. While there, he ignored the guide's instructions, reached over a fence to try to pet the lion on the head like a little kitty cat. Understandably, the lion bit him. And he was rushed to the hospital, forcing him to miss the game. He had a pretty big wound on his hand. Doctors say that his injuries could have been much worse had he done something really dangerous like playing rugby.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did Brian do on our quiz?

SAGAL: He did pretty well, five right, Brian, 10 more points - total of 12 for the lead.

SAGAL: All right.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Pretty well, Brian.

BABYLON: All right.

SAGAL: Roy, you're up next. Fill in the blank - this week the National Weather Service warned that another - blank - could hit the U.S. this weekend.

SAGAL: On Tuesday, President Trump expelled 15 diplomats from - blank - over the alleged use of a sonic weapon.

BLOUNT JR: Cuba.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Sunday, city halls across Germany open their doors to allow the country's first - blank - couples to legally wed.

BLOUNT JR: Gay?

SAGAL: Yeah.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: A player in the Ivory Coast national soccer team is out for two months after he injured himself while - blanking.

BLOUNT JR: While kicking.

SAGAL: While faking an injury.

(LAUGHTER)

HONG: Wow.

SAGAL: This week, streaming service - blank - announced a rate hike for monthly subscribers.

BLOUNT JR: Netflix.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Monday, iconic song writer - blank - passed away at the age of 66.

SAGAL: Tom Petty.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Police in Canada managed to apprehend two...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...Recently escaped inmates after tracking them to a - blank.

BLOUNT JR: To another jail that they liked better.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: You know, you're so close I'm going to give it to you. They found the escaped inmates in an escape room.

BLOUNT JR: Oh.

HONG: What?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

HONG: Wow.

SAGAL: So these two inmates had escaped from the Edmonton Institution for Women on Monday. And they were found a day later when the police trailed them to an escape room. Now, if you haven't been to one, they're basically locked rooms you pay to enter and then you have to solve puzzles to get out. It's fun.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: But what kind of person gets out of prison and says hey, you know, that was fun? We escaped from prison, but not challenging enough. Let's do it again but as part of a team building exercise.

HONG: But I bet they were really good at it.

SAGAL: They were like, we can nail this.

HONG: Yeah.

SAGAL: Bill, how did Roy do on our quiz?

KURTIS: He got seven right - 14 more points, total of 16 - almost unreachable.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: So how many then will Helen need to win?

KURTIS: So many.

HONG: So many.

(LAUGHTER)

KURTIS: Seven she needs to win.

SAGAL: Oh my God, Helen. Here we go, this is for the game - fill in the blank. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard a challenge to partisan - blanking.

HONG: Gerrymandering.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, Trump announced plans to decertify the nuclear deal with - blank.

HONG: Iran.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: In an announcement on Tuesday, web giant - blank - revealed that all 3 billion of its users were affected by a 2013 data breach.

HONG: Yahoo.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Sunday, former football star and definitely not a murderer - blank - was released from prison in Nevada.

SAGAL: O.J. Simpson.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Monday, GM announced that it was working towards an all - blank - future for the company.

HONG: Electric.

SAGAL: Yes, all electric.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, Kazuo Ishiguro won the - blank - Prize for Literature.

HONG: Nobel.

SAGAL: Yay, yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Police in Colorado Springs say that despite...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...Numerous calls from the public, the woman known only as - blank - remains unidentified and on the loose.

HONG: The electric stroller driver.

SAGAL: No. She's known - and feared - as the Mad Pooper.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: A few weeks ago, we told you the story of an unidentified woman who took time from her weekly jogs to do her business on these neighborhood lawns in Colorado Springs.

HONG: What?

SAGAL: And since then, the story has gained momentum. And now local police in Colorado Springs are begging the public to please stop calling in with tips related to the Mad Pooper.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Please stop. Spokesman says that although she is not their main priority, she is their number two.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And, of course, they say they are tracking her movements.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, did Helen do well enough to win?

KURTIS: She came so close. She needed seven. She got six - total of 15, but Roy wins with 16.